More socialism from McCain.

Now, he is proposing socializing risk in the health care industry.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is proposing a greater federal commitment to people without health insurance on Tuesday, suggesting that it help funds states to set up non-profit risk pools to help Americans who are denied coverage or can’t afford it.

Sure, this may only cost $7 billion a year (although I suspect that being a lowball estimate, but the expense is not important. This is still socialized medicine. It completely undermines any credibility that McCain may have in calling himself a free-market, small government conservative. If he's willing to have the government intervene to centrally plan (and to steal people's money at gunpoint to do it), even with something at small expense, he's willing to do it everyhwere. Socializing risk in any industry is stupid, but particularly stupid in health care. These pools will be riddled with moral hazard issues, and the cost will increase vastly, particluarly for states.

This is going to be a very long campaign for Repbulicans of libertarian or small-government bend. We have a verifiable socialist as our nominee.